When should my child stop napping?

Newborns will nap sporadically throughout the day. Somewhere between four to six months of age, they will fall into a two nap a day cycle, where they take an early nap for one to two hours and they take an afternoon nap for one to two hours. Somewhere around eighteen months of age, that will transition to a one nap a day and they will maintain their afternoon nap.
Most kids will stop napping entirely between the ages of three and five years old. All of us have different sleep needs and some of us sleep better than others, but that's generally what happens with napping.

Lawrence Kagan, MD

Pediatrician

Lawrence Kagan, MD, FAAP, is a UCLA honors graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He received medical training at USC Keck School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In addition to passionately studying neonatal, general pediatric and adolescent medicine at CHLA, he had the opportunity to train under some of the greatest minds in subspecialty pediatrics, diagnosing and managing the rarest and most complicated childhood ailments. Prior to opening Westside Pediatrics, he worked as an attending physician at the CHLA Emergency Department as well as at Cedars Sinai Urgent Care. Dr. Kagan is a native of Los Angeles and is happily married with two children.

Newborns will nap sporadically throughout the day. Somewhere between four to six months of age, they will fall into a two nap a day cycle, where they take an early nap for one to two hours and they take an afternoon nap for one to two hours. Somewhere around eighteen months of age, that will transition to a one nap a day and they will maintain their afternoon nap.
Most kids will stop napping entirely between the ages of three and five years old. All of us have different sleep needs and some of us sleep better than others, but that's generally what happens with napping.